A123 Systems fka AONEQ

[minutetraderz]

A123 Systems Inc. plans to seek bankruptcy-court approval Tuesday to sell itself to the winning bidder of an auction that began Thursday.
The government-backed maker of batteries for electric cars sought Chapter 11 protection in October with a deal in hand to sell its automotive-business assets to Milwaukee -based auto-parts manufacturer Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI). The deal included the Michigan factory for which A123 in 2009 received nearly $250 million in grants from the Department of Energy to construct.
However, bankruptcy laws generally require such deals to be tested at the auction block. A123 drew the interest of several bidders ahead of Thursday's auction, which was expected to last more than one day given the complexity of its business.
Wanxiang America Corp. , the U.S. arm of a Chinese-owned auto-parts company, has submitted a competing bid and other potential suitors have expressed interest in various parts of the company. And lawyers for electronics makers Siemens AG (SI, SIE.XE), of Germany , and NEC Corp. (NIPNF, 6701.TO) of Japan , have also indicated their clients were interested in bidding on the Waltham, Mass ., company's assets.
NewPage Corp. next week will seek to emerge from bankruptcy protection with $ 850 million in new financing.
The paper maker will ask a Wilmington, Del. , bankruptcy judge Thursday to confirm its Chapter 11 plan of reorganization, which hands ownership of the company to first-lien lenders owed $1.77 billion .
Also under the plan, second-lien lenders and unsecured creditors will share $ 30 million in cash and proceeds raised by post-bankruptcy lawsuits.
If approved, the Chapter 11 balance-sheet reshaping "should continue the employment of the 6,000 employees, and...put it on track in the commercial world totally deleveraged to survive and thrive," NewPage attorney Martin Bienenstock told the bankruptcy court last month.
The company hopes to fund its plan with $850 million in exit loans from lenders led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Barclays PLC (BCS, BARC.LN). The court will also review the financing package at Thursday's hearing.
NewPage , which filed for bankruptcy in September 2011 , hopes to exit by the end of the year. The Miamisburg, Ohio , company is one of the biggest North American manufacturers of coated paper used in magazines, and it also makes specialty paper and newsprint.
Finally, Eastman Kodak Co. (EKDKQ) on Friday will seek approval to enter into a commitment for an $830 million loan package that it says is essential to its ongoing restructuring.
A group of its second-lien bondholders, including units of D.E. Shaw Group and Litespeed Management, have agreed to provide the loan, which Kodak may use during its Chapter 11 case as well as to fund its eventual exit from bankruptcy.
If approved, the financing terms would require Kodak to complete its restructuring by Sept. 30, 2013 , and sell off its portfolio of some 1,100 digital-imaging patents for at least $500 million .
Kodak reportedly has taken one step closer to meeting the latter condition. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that a group of unknown bidders has offered more than $500 million for the patents, though the company declined to comment on the offer.
Kodak late last month chose the current bondholder group as its bankruptcy lender, reversing its earlier decision to accept a $793 million financing package from a rival bondholder group that included Centerbridge Partners and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
"The improved financing commitment provides a longer maturity, lower fees and pricing, and greater liquidity than our previously announced commitment," Kodak Chief Executive Antonio M. Perez said in a statement.
-- Peg Brickley in Wilmington, Del. , contributed to this article.
Write to Jacqueline Palank at [e-mail]
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
12-07-12 1104ET
Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.